Flight Planning

The FAA is too slow to hire and train new air traffic controllers, NATCA said this week, and the result is that towers and centers across the country are chronically understaffed. Controllers are repeatedly working six-day weeks at TRACON facilities in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston and New York, according to NATCA. “Bureaucratic inertia” is […]

I was recently flying my Mooney into an airport in Colorado. Listening on the CTAF, I heard a Citation X announce:“Citation N1234 about 15 miles west, landing.” Trying to be accommodating, I replied:“Citation, Mooney is about five miles out, but I’ll go to the VOR, then return and follow you. You’re burning a lot more […]

This past week I watched the Wings Over Wine Country Air Show practice from my hangar at KSTS. I was listening to the tower on my handheld. While I was listening, three different pilots wandered into the TFR, causing the rehearsals to be delayed. The fourth time it happened was when the Canadian Snowbirds had […]

Call came in for a fuel order:“Can you send the fuel truck for ship 1 and ship 2?” The reply came back:“I am sorry sir we don”t do boats.” Basilio

I had dispatched a solo student on his cross-country trip. The route took him over some higher terrain — about 2,000 feet higher than his departure airport. As usual, I was listening on frequency to hear him clear the zone on route when he called flight service. Pilot:“The sky is falling, and I will be […]

Normal afternoon ground transmissions, when, out of nowhere: Unidentified Pilot:“Yeah, they have fajitas, enchiladas, burritos, quesadillas, fish tacos — they got everything!” [A short silence.] Ground:“Uhh, you just broadcasted that on BWI Ground.” [Another short silence.] (A Different) Unidentified Pilot:“Sounded delicious, though.” Shawn Byers

In discussions with new pilots at airports and on aviation forums, two of the recurring questions I get are how to give a good ride to someone who has never been in an airplane before and how come the spouses and families of a fair percentage of pilots don’t like to, or simply won’t, fly […]

Back when I was a student pilot in Navy Flight School, I was flying solo along the beach, conducting precision aerobatics practice. As I finished a barrel roll and set up for a loop, I heard a student-and-instructor aircraft check in to the area, and the exchange went like this: Instructor:“Solo aircraft 123, was that […]

After several years of work by the Recreational Aviation Foundation, an old turf runway has been restored and reopened on North Fox Island, in Lake Michigan. The 3,000-foot runway has displaced thresholds on both ends, and is surrounded by trees up to about 60 feet high. The island, which comprises about 820 acres, is owned […]

A NASA T-38 flown by an astronaut was taxiing to the FBO when he turned into a private hangar’s parking area. Ground control rerouted him to the FBO, and the pilot thanked him and said: “It is so hard to find your way down here on Earth.” Gib Satterwhite